My heroine was 24 and my hero was 34.

But to be fair, it's a paranormal, and most of the points they gained had to do with their supernatural powers...can't write a para without those, so...I'm considering myself in the safe zone.

That's why Corine scored higher than the others, I think. She has the power of pyschometry and some bad stuff has happened to her.

But she can't speak bazillion languages or is the master of five different martial arts while also being a gourmet cook and former supermodel. Hee.

I was going to post about the Mary Sue thing later this week, because I am hard-pressed to think of a historical heroine who doesn't smack at least a little of the phenomenon. I mean, if these heroines were real women of their age, they'd be washing clothes, cooking over open fires, washing sanitary cloths out in a river, and birthing babies until keeling over. With historicals, most of the heroines have a little something special (to set them apart from the 99.9% of their counterparts who we'd never hear about because they were, well, real and therefore ordinary). I don't know -- can you think of an historical that didn't lean toward Mary Sue land? (FYI Mathilda scored a 29, which is borderline. I thought I did pretty well considering how BADLY she would have scored for my original draft!)

I understand why the test is set up like it is, but it's also set up so that you cannot write paranormal or with a high publicity job, like band member, without scoring high. My characters are never "the most powerful" or "the best". The only one who is close the being good at her power is not a good thing. I posted my results on my blog today.

Yeah, the test is a bit skewed, but it's a decent guidepost nonetheless. I wasn't kidding when I said I need to be careful with Corine, though. There are three guys, no more, to whom she may be attracted and who may be attracted to her in turn, throughout the course of the series. I don't know which one she'll end up with, yet.

I also find the test exceedingly skewed. Apparently the only way to avoid writing something that would be considered borderline is to either not write anyhting that would be paranormal or otherwise high profile, and to make sure the character is stupid (because you get MS points for intelligence), that no one likes (because you get points anyone doesn't hate your character) and a rapist (because you subtract points every time your character rapes someone).

And no pets. Domesticated animals are a sure sign of a MS.

It's bizarre. I know a Mary Sue when I see it, and it's always about being the bestest, brightest, most magicalest most lovablest person ever. I love the idea of a test, but it should be simple:

1) Does the character have one or more of the following: violet eyes/super long hair/beauty she doesn't know exists/highly poetic names or nicknames?
2) Is the character constantly being rescued?
3) Does the character sacrifice herself in the end?
4) Do more than 50 percent of the characters who are sexually compatible with the character fall for him/her?
5) Does the character have a habit of swooping in and daving the day?
6) Are all of the characters worst traits considered inexplicably charming by the other characters?
7) Does the character show stunning acumen for a highly specialized skill without training?
8) Is the character a child prodigy?
9) Is the character always right, especially about hunches?

Answer yes to more than three and you've got a Mary Sue.